


All you had to do was stay

by unhookingstarswithoutpermission



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Malec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:45:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unhookingstarswithoutpermission/pseuds/unhookingstarswithoutpermission
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.<br/>-William Shakespeare"</p>
<p>The first time Alec says "I love you", Magnus doesn't believe him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All you had to do was stay

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this fanfiction was "When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew." (actually, it was this picture: http://25.media.tumblr.com/a6f4b6b213e1e03d8d92d5d5e5a2e585/tumblr_mke20bPRUb1r7jxopo1_500.png  
> )  
> Written for the "Screw Prompts, give me points!" challenge from the Facebook group "Prompt Me Now!".
> 
> We all knew the title comes from Taylor Swift's All You Had To Do Was Stay. 
> 
> And I still haven't a beta and I'm sure this is full of mistakes but whatever.

Alec wasn't used to be scared. He _hated_ to be scared, actually: he knew that fear paralysed you both mentally and physically, and if he couldn't think he was useless. That was the reason he never got in any fight if he hadn't evaluate the risks before. Alec was pragmatic and realistic, unlike Isabelle and Jace: when he took a risk - any risk, even if it didn't seem this dangerous - he knew what he was getting into. No one ever realized that when he risked his life he knew there would have been the eventuality of dying.  
Alec thought that everything could be solved with enough logic. He was a mind, even though his body was as trained as his brain: and not knowing was horrible to him. He hated the feeling of being helpless, of giving himself over to other hands, even if they were the fate's.  
That was the reason Alec was even bitter than usual: the strange feeling of being scared and the lack of logic in his thoughts were making him crazy. It wasn't such a big deal, to be honest: he just had a certain someone in his head all day long. Sometimes he even visited his dreams, giving him the weirdest and prettiest nights ever. He didn't know what all that meant, though, and he couldn't just go to his sister and tell her that he was dreaming Magnus on a regular basis. He just couldn't. He knew that Isabelle knew, but he wasn't able to put what he felt into words. It was like he was either in fire and underwater, either drained but full of vitality: it was something he never felt before.  
Isabelle noticed that Alec wasn't himself in a short time. She started showering his brother with indiscreet questions and unrequited tries to discover what, or more likely who, was making Alec so different and weird. He knew Izzy wasn't stupid, and that she had seen and maybe lived similar situations so many times, but he didn't say anything. He was very patient, after all. It took his sister twenty-three tries - Jace counted them all, without helping anyhow - to make him give up. Alec went through the tickling session, the insistent questioning, the begging, without hardly any damage. But then Izzy locked him up in his bedroom, and hided both his room's key and the other locket she put on's key.  
After half a day of isolament, Alec started banging on his door and calling out for his sister. When Izzy opened the door, a satisfied smile on her lips, Alec spurted out everything: the dreams, the feelings, the weirdness.  
Isabelle watched him with a terrible seriousness that made his face even more beautiful than usually, and a smirk slowly appeared on his lips. "I know what you should do" she said. "Go ask Magnus out-"  
"Like, on a date?"  
"Of course, Alec!"

Their first date didn't go so well at all but Alec earned a magnificent make-out session anyway and he couldn't have been happier. He was a little embarrassed actually, because Magnus was his first boyfriend (but was he his boyfriend, actually? They hadn't talked about it yet) and his first kiss and his first so many things, and Alec didn't know if he was good enough.  
Magnus had a gift for talking. He seemed to have a gift for _everything_ , actually, but the one Alec noticed more recently was that one. First of all, Magnus's words were even sweeter and more intriguing than his lips, and Alec did have an obsession for them. And his voice was low, and peaceful, and Alec remembered falling asleep to it once or twice.  
Lastly, Magnus was able of making him believe everything. Alec knew he was not perfect at all, he was conscientious about all his flaws and he wasn't able to not point them out. He tried to hide himself under his big sweaters and his baggy jeans, but it never was really enough. He usually had a hard time with anything that concerned fashion, or style.  
Magnus was his exact opposite. He was able to look flawless with every weird article of clothing he wore, but Alec knew it was because he was so beautiful. He had seen him wearing normal clothes - plain, worn out T-shirts and simple jeans, that Magnus used only when he was at home alone. He had seen Magnus almost without make-up on, and even with just a bit of black eyeliner smeared under his eyes he was perfect.  
When Alec pointed it out the first time, Magnus had just softly whispered into his ear: "So you think I'm sexy?" And it had leaded to one of the best making-out sessions in both Alec and Magnus's lives.  
The second time Alec said it, they were sprawled out on Magnus's bed. Alec was resting his head against the warlock's flat stomach, and Magnus was just playing around with his hair, eyes closed and a relaxed face.  
Alec was watching at him through heavy eyelids. "You're so beautiful" he murmured softly, and Magnus opened his golden eyes and looked at him in what could be read as awe. "You could have anyone. Why me?"  
Alec saw sudden anger filling Magnus's eyes, like someone was pouring fire into them. "What do you mean, Alexander?" he replied, louder.  
"I mean, I'm not beautiful like you at all. And I'm not the perfect boyfriend as well, so..."  
"So what?" Magnus said back, properly angry this time. "I don't want perfection or anything. I just want you."  
Alec didn't react as he would usually do. He didn't fling himself at Magnus, he didn't start kissing him. He just looked up at him with wide, dazed eyes and said: "I l-"  
It was Magnus who throw himself at Alec. He kissed him full on the mouth, harsh lips shutting out his words. They rolled on the bed, ending up lying on it with Magnus on top of Alex. "I know." Magnus said, and he searched for Alec's eyes. He seemed so hurt. "Really, I do!" But Magnus didn't go on. He didn't say Alec he knew about Jace, he knew he loved his _parabatai_ more than he could ever love him. He didn't say anything else, he just rested his head on Alec's chest and listened to his heartbeat. 

Alec loved the feeling of Magnus's arms around him. They made the shadows go away, the fears and the pain disappear bit by bit. They would stay like that for entire days - they were still recovering from the battle, after all, and was there a better way to do it than on their couch, in _their_ house? They spent almost a whole week locked up, in between whispers and meows coming from the Chairman.  
Alec had thought for so long about how to say those three words. Magnus told him in the middle of a war, by telling him he loved him even though Alec was way too into Jace, and Alec was taken apart by Magnus's words at the time.  
Alec said "I love you" in a way more ordinary way. They were cuddling - something neither he and Magnus were willing to admit they did - and Magnus whispered into his ear "You're beautiful" and Alec replied, "I love you".  
Then Magnus was smiling up at him, incredulous, and he said: "Do you?"  
"Of course, what makes you think I don't?" Alec asked, quite alarmed.  
"You loved Jace, and I know you get so attached to the people you love. And I don't want you to feel like you have to love me. You don't have to do anything for me."  
Alec looked up at him and kissed him in a sweet, profound way. "No, I didn't love Jace like I love you. I was obsessed, and it was just unhealthy both for me and him. But you, Magnus, you knew. By the Angel, you did know when I first knocked at your door. Otherwise you wouldn't have smiled like that. You knew you could make me fall in love with a smile, or you wouldn't have been so confident. You knew I was in love you, Magnus, dammit."  
"I didn't. I never was so secure as you think I was, Alexander. You made me nervous, you still do sometimes."  
Alec looked into his eyes, and he could tell Magnus wasn't lying. So he whispered again, "I love you" and he kissed him and he kept saying "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou".  
And for the first time in ages - for the first time at all, maybe - Magnus needed this "I love you"'s more than everything else in the world.


End file.
